


Nice Guys Finish Last

by Decaykid



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, F/M, Unrequited Love, mentions of Kougami/Sasayama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-13 21:05:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13578927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Decaykid/pseuds/Decaykid
Summary: Kougami takes a long drag off his cigarette. "It's kinda obvious, Shu.""Obvious to everyone except for Akane-chan, apparently.""Maybe she's not as oblivious as you think."Kagari stiffens, wants to get defensive, then he freezes. Why would Kougami say that? He spends a lot of time with Akane, they could even be friends. Perhaps Kougami knows something he doesn't? Of course she isn't oblivious. He's an Enforcer. She's just being polite.





	Nice Guys Finish Last

**Author's Note:**

> Light emeto tw.  
> No one's actually sick, Ko's just a terrible liar.

"Woah there Shu, I think you've had enough." Masaoka says as he watches the young Enforcer finish off the bottle of liquor he's been nursing all evening.

"It's no use ouji-san."

"The alcohol or Inspector Tsunemori?"

Glassy eyes widen in disbelief.

"H-how did you know?"

The old man chuckles in amusement. He places a gentle hand on Kagari's shoulder.

"Well, it's kinda obvious, Shu."

The young man lets out a despairing sigh as he falls back into the floor.

"What am I supposed to do? It's not as if I can tell her how I feel. And, even if I did-" Kagari hiccups miserably, "I'm still an Enforcer. And she's... well, an Inspector."

Masaoka gives the boy a sympathetic smile. He remembers the days before Sibyl, before Crime Coefficients and Psycho-passes and criminal prejudices. A time when people were allowed to love whoever, have hopes and dreams and follow them, a time before humanity became enslaved to a super computer with a God Complex. He's startled from his thoughts as Kagari pulls himself from the floor, sitting himself next to the older Enforcer. He stays there a moment before leaning over to rest his head against Masaoka's good shoulder. He wraps an arm around the boy's shoulders, giving him an awkward side hug.

"I know Inspector Tsunemori is a nice lady, but don't worry Shu, you'll find someone eventually."

Kagari lets out a snort as he reaches for Masaoka's drink.

"Ay. I think you should slow down. Are you sure you don't want something to eat? I can whip up some dinner."

Kagari sits up with a pout, swaying as he does so. The older man frowns.

"Maybe you should lay down for a bit..."

"W-When you say... 'find somebody'... do you- do you mean another Enforcer?"

Masaoka sighs deeply before handing his drink over and watches as the boy downs the glass in a few easy gulps.

"This is more than just a crush, isn't it Shu?"

Kagari gives a simple, one-shoulder shrug, but he refuses to meet Masaoka's gaze, and that speaks volumes to the detective.

"What is it about the Inspector that catches your eye, exactly?"

Another shrug followed by, "she's special."

Masaoka nods. "Yes, I understand that. What about her is special?"

Kagari draws his gaze from Masaoka's empty glass to the ceiling, he looks almost whimsical through the haze of drunkenness. As the seconds tick by that leaves Masaoka's question unanswered, he can only draw two conclusions: considering that Kagari is usually an endless fountain of words and conversation he's either so drunk he's forgotten how to use his mouth, or he's shy about the Inspector. At this point, he feels it's a fifty-fifty chance as to which one it is.

"She... she doesn't... she doesn't treat me... like how everyone else does." His words are heavy and slurred and Masaoka decides he's letting the boy drink anymore.

"You mean like a criminal?"

He nods as he brings the glass to his lips and takes an ice cube into his mouth. He chews on it before speaking again.

"She sees me... like a person."

"Yes, she is unique in that way. She doesn't see us as hunting dogs, but as people with potential." Masaoka gently punches Kagari in the shoulder. "Do we really treat you so badly?"

"I grew up... in the system." Kagari says, and Masaoka accepts this solemnly. He supposes being labelled a latent criminal as a child wouldn't get you much respect or kindness.

"And... she's pretty cute too," Kagari adds," but anyone with eyes can see that."

Masaoka smiles. "That, she is." He says conversationally.

"And, she likes it... when I cook for her. She likes hanging out."

"Well you are the closest in age to her, and she probably can't talk much with her friends outside the MWPSB."

"Ouji-san... you're not helping." Kagari says despairingly.

The older Enforcer smiles sympathetically.

"You're right, I'm sorry." He reaches out and places a hand on Kagari's knee. "I'll make it up to you, and make us some dinner, how does that sound?"

"Sounds great..." Kagari mumbles nonchalantly.

Masaoka grunts as he stands, makes an idle comment on his old bones, and Kagari decides to lay down now that space has been freed up on the couch; he's asleep before Masaoka even begins cooking.

 

~*~

 

"Sorry Nobu, but I don't think Kagari's gonna make it today."

The Inspector levels an icy glare at the Enforcer as a spew of comments race to his tongue. He inhales sharply and pushes his glasses into their proper spot.

"He isn't actually ill, is he? You two were up drinking again."

Masaoka grins impishly. Idly, he rubs the back of his neck.

"You got me there."

Ginoza stares in near disbelief. The nerve of these dogs.

"I want Kagari in his chair in ten minutes. He has an obligation to Sibyl to fulfill his duty. If he can not do that much, we can always send him back to the Institution and get someone who can. There are plenty of latent criminals to choose from, after all."

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Masaoka says with a single eyebrow raised.

"Just tell him to get here." Ginoza replies, trying to keep the pout out of his voice.

 

~*~

 

Kagari is draped across his work space with his face pressed against his keyboard. The screen dings annoyingly to alert him that he's pressing incorrect keys. He's more than willing to continue sitting there feeling sorry for himself, that is, until Yayoi gives him a sideways glance, features soft with pity. With his pride now wounded, he pulls himself up and prepares himself for the daunting shift ahead.

That's when Shinya and Akane enter into the office. He watches as they walk to their respective desks, begins to think of all the time they seem to share together and how he totally isn't jealous.

Then Akane-chan catches him starring.

"Eh? Kagari-san are you okay? You don't look too well..."

He can feel everyone's eyes on him and he wishes they could all just mind their own damned business. Whatever work ethic he managed to muster up earlier vanishes into thin air.

"You're not sick are you?" She quickly places her hands over her nose and mouth. "Are you contagious?"

He sighs and turns back to face his computer.

"No Akane-chan, I'm fine."

"Smooth." Yayoi whispers, and Kagari groans.

 

~*~

 

Akane has been watching Kagari watch the blinking cursor on his computer when he's not nodding off. Normally, Ginoza would've gotten on to Kagari for slacking off, but the senior Inspector hasn't uttered a word. She decides this must mean that Ginoza knows what's up with the youngest Enforcer. Curious and with nothing else to do in the office, she starts her own investigation.

She grabs a stack of papers from her desk and walks over to the other Inspector's desk.

"Ginoza-san, I have a few questions."

Ginoza looks up from his report expectantly.

She places the papers down on his desk, points to a section, leans in and whispers, "I noticed that Kagari-san isn't really doing any work, and that you haven't said anything."

"I can easily amend that."

"No. no. I mean... you must know what's going on with him?"

"If you want to know so badly, you should go ask Masaoka, since they're apparently buddies."

"O-Oh. Okay. Thank you."

With that, she returns to her desk.

So Ginoza doesn't know what's going on per se, or so it seems, but knows enough to cut Kagari some slack. Maybe that's all she needs to know, she thinks. maybe she should just let it go. It's not like she really needs all the details, right? She knows Kagari is having an off day. Except she can't just forget about it, she's concerned.

She just needs to be reassured that it's nothing big going on. Once she knows Kagari is safe, she can get back to her work.

She grabs a folder off her desk.

"Masaoka-san? May I ask you a few questions?"

The old man glances at the folder.

"About last quarter's budget? Um, I'm not really sure I'm the right guy to-"

"No, no.. it's, um..." She leans in and drops her voice to a whisper, "I was told to ask you about Kagari-san."

Masaoka nods, and his gaze catches Ginoza's before the younger man quickly returns his attention back to his screen.

"I see. What about Shu?"

"Well, er, why isn't he acting like himself?"

"Oh, that? That's nothing. We were hanging out, and got to drinking like men do and Shu just had too much to drink."

"Oh." Akane says with a sigh of relief. "So he's okay?"

"Shu is fine, just hing over."

Akane nods.

"Thank you Masaoka-san. I appreciate it."

There's a strange tension in the room when Akane returns to her desk, and Kagari feels like he can't breathe. They're all expecting him to do or say something, to confront her. They act like it's so simple. But it's more than that, right? She can't even approach him and ask him what's going on. Instead she's sneaking around the office to ask everyone else. And that, he thinks, answers his question loud and clear. The answer he's known all along.

He's just being grumpy, he thinks. He's hungover and upset everyone seems to know about his unrequited feelings so he's acting bitter because he's too tired and unwell to stuff it down and act like his normal, loud and cheery self.

Space. He just needs some space to reset.

"I'm going on break Gino-san. I'll be back in a bit."

The Inspector scoffs.

"What do you mean you're 'going on break'? Get back here." Ginoza doesn't understand, he's not doing any work, is that not enough of a break for him? HOw much more slack does he want?

"I'm... going on a cigarette break."

"You don't even smoke."

"Then I'll start."

Once outside he takes in a huge breath and slowly exhales, finally feeling as though he may relax. However, he only has a few moments peace before he hears the door slide open. He frowns, pretends he doesn't notice his fellow Enforcer there, which would be easier to do if the smell of nicotine wasn't wafting through the air and rolling Kagari's stomach in waves of nausea.

"Ouji-san said I should try talking to you."

"You can at least pretend you want to be here." Kagari knows he's being childish but he's beyond caring. Besides, no one expects him to act responsible, he's a latent criminal.

"Is this about Inspector Tsunemori?"

Kagari nearly chokes. He gives Kougami an incredulous look and he feels his face flush. "You too?!?"

Kougami takes a long drag off his cigarette. "It's kinda obvious, Shu."

"Obvious to everyone except for Akane-chan, apparently."

"Maybe she's not as oblivious as you think."

Kagari stiffens, wants to get defensive, then he freezes. Why would Kougami say that? He spends a lot of time with Akane, they could even be friends. Perhaps Kougami knows something he doesn't? Of course she isn't oblivious. He's an Enforcer. She's just being polite.

"Shu... I know none of us like to think of it, but our life expectancy isn't that long. Our line of work is dangerous, between the criminal we deal with on a daily basis, and our own crime coefficients. People like ouji-san are rare. Anything can happen."

"What are you getting at Ko-chan?"

"Is this really something you want to take with you to the grave?"

"Ko-chan..." Kagari hates being patronized.

"I'm being serious Shu."

There's a sudden seriousness in Kougami's voice that makes the conversation somber.

"You mean... like with Sasayama..."

Kougami says nothing as he finishes his cigarette.

"It didn't bother you? That he was an Enforcer?"

"No Shu, it didn't."

"Well what stopped-"

"I didn't know if he felt the same way."

It's then that Kagari understands.

"I... I can be careful."

"And what if something happened to her?"

A heavy silence befalls the pair.

"You have to carry that around for the rest of your life, Shu. Wondering how things could've been, if you'd only done things differently. If you'd only taken that chance. It can drive a man mad, Shu."

Kagari nods slowly as he takes all this in. He'd never imagined the other side of this scenario, the one where he lives with their regret, the kind of regret that turns an Inspector into an Enforcer. What would that do to someone who is already an Enforcer? Would it push his Crime Coefficient beyond the tolerated level for a hunting dog?  
Kougami's earlier words echo in his head.

"Is this really something you want to take with you to the grave?"

"Thanks Ko-chan."

Kougami simply nods before asking, "you ready to go in?"

"Actually, I think I'm going to stay out here a bit."

"Gino won't like that."

"Gino can bite it."

Kougami smiles before turning and leaving Kagari to the fresh air and his thoughts.

 

~*~

 

Akane looks up from her desk when she hears the office doors slide open.

"Where's Kagari-san?" She asks before she can stop herself.

"He's not ready to come in yet." Kougami answers simply.

"Oh. Is he okay?"

"He'll be okay."

Masaoka coughs into his hand as Akane's expression turns to one of concern.

"Is there something wrong with him?"

Masaoka coughs again and Kougami realizes he's slipped up.

"Oh, um... no. He's just..." He turns to look at the older Enforcer who offers up nothing but a warning glance.

"He's just... sick."

"He's sick?"

"I'm sure Shu is just fine Inspector," Masaoka cuts in, "he'll bounce back after a good night's rest."

Bewildered and at a loss, Akane turns to look at Ginoza who just seems annoyed at the whole ordeal.

"What should we do?"

Ginoza looks skeptically at Akane.

"What makes you think we should do anything?"

"Should we give the rest of the day off?"

Ginoza sighs.

"Because Enforcers live here, they don't get paid unless they're on the clock. If he were to be excused, he would have to get a cut in pay."

"What if one of them gets sick or hurt?"

"Enforcers know what they sign up for when they take the job. They're a buffer between the criminal world and us Inspectors. If they get injured on the job, they get time off to heal. They don't have to pay for their medical expenses, as it's part of their job, but they certainly don't get paid for sitting around in the med bay."

Masaoka smiles at his desk. So he had Kagari come in today because he was worried about him in his own way, not because he was punishing Kagari for his own jealousy. His son is definitely a better man than he.

"So, that's it then?"

Ginoza sighs.

"Yes Akane, that's it."

The three Enforcers share a look.

"Inspector, if you don't mind me saying, you sure seem worried about Kagari." Yayoi says.

"Are you not?" Akane asks, confused and feeling somewhat defensive. Surely Enforcers aren't so heartless!

"Of course we want him to get better Inspector, but I think it's fair to say that no one here seems quite as concerned as you are." Masaoka explains.

"Maybe you should go talk to him." Kougami adds.

Akane looks between the three, then turns her attention to Ginoza.

"Well, you do seem distracted from your work," Akane blushes at the comment, "if anything comes up, I'll send Kougami to fetch you."

"Thank you Ginoza-san."

"Just... get back. We're going to have to make up-" Akane slips from the room before he can finish- "all this work..."

He glances to the remaining three Enforcers.

"Is there something going on that I don't know about?"

The three smile as they return to their work.

"Gino getting chatty with his dogs? Today certainly is backwards." Kougami teases.

Ginoza dismisses them with a pout as he returns his attention to his report.

 

~*~

 

"Kagari-san?" Akane asks tentatively as she steps out into the balcony. To her confusion, there's no sign of Kagari being sick. He's simply sitting on the floor with his back

against the wall and his eyes closed, though he jumps at the sound of her voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"Akane-chan..." He says dumbly.

"Kougami told me you're sick?"

Kagari sighs. So this whole thing is a set up.

"I'm fine Akane-chan, just... a little under the weather."

Akane hums a response, then takes a seat on the floor beside him. Kagari's stomach twists and he doesn't think it's from nausea.

"Masaoka-san told me you drank too much last night."

"Yeah." He says simply. She's so close he can smell her perfume and he can't remember what words are.

"A good remedy for that is to drink water while you're drinking alcohol. It'll keep your system flushed, so you don't wake up with a hangover the next morning."

Kagari finds himself taken aback.

"You drink?"

Akane smiles.

"I've been to a couple of clubs. My friends and I would go celebrate after exams."

"I can't even imagine that."

Akane laughs.

"I'm sure I've got a few pictures around."

Kagari isn't sure how to respond, so he lets the conversation slip into silence and Akane is reminded why she's here.

"It's nice to hear your voice, Kagari-san. You've been too quiet today."

Kagari feels warmth flood his face.

"Well, since Gino-chan was nice enough to not yell at me, I thought I'd be quiet."

"I suppose it's a fair trade for Ginoza-san, but the rest of us had to suffer for it."

"Suffer?"

"Yes, the office is too boring when you're quiet."

"Akane-chan! Are you encouraging me to break the rules?"

Akane adopts a very pensive expression and she places a finger very thoughtfully to her chin.

"Well, I suppose you never technically break any rules. You may annoy some of your coworkers, most notably your superior, but unless you're committing fraud on your reports or murder someone in the office, then you're not really breaking any rules."

"Akane-chan, I didn't know you had it in you."

She can't help but blush as their eyes meet.

"I'm full of surprises, Kagari-san."

They continue to stare at one another as the second tick by. Kagari feels as though he's getting lost in her soft, brown eyes and he wants to know what her lips feel like against his, wants to be so close that he can't tell his heat from hers. The moment stretches on and the possibilities become endless, he can chase this, ask her what kind of surprises, say something flirty back and have fun with it, he can confess to her, he could say nothing at all and kiss her- put everything out there and make a gamble.  
Instead, he continues to let it stretch on, and he decides that here in the infinite possibilities is where he wants to live.

"Kagari-san?" She asks, voice so soft and uncertain, like a question she doesn't really want answered.

"I..." He has no answer. He isn't sure what she's asking.

"Yo, Inspector!" Kougami's voice cuts through the moment and it shatters like glass on the floor. "Scanners picked up on something downtown. Gino wants you to take me and ouji-san."

"Okay, I'm coming!"

Akane turns back to Kagari with a small smile.

"I guess Ginoza-san is still looking out for you, eh?"

"Yeah... I guess."

She places her hand on Kagari's shoulder and gives a firm squeeze.

"I hope you feel better Kagari-san." She smiles encouragingly then stands. As he watches her turn and walk away, dread fills his stomach and he wonders if he's made a mistake.

"Akane-chan, be careful out there!" He yells as panic starts to creep in.

"I'll look after her." Kougami says, and the two share a look.

Kougami knows that Kagari's made his choice.

It's scary confronting your feelings. It's hard opening yourself up, making yourself vulnerable to someone you love, someone you care about. Kougami thought he could live in that space, the space of almost. The daydreams feel safer then laying yourself out there, then possibly being rejected. Kougami lived for those moments, the brushing of arms and legs, the long glances, the quiet moments where you don't take the kiss, but wonder what it could be like. Kougami felt like he never had to make the jump, because he was happy standing across the chasm simply looking a Sasayama on the other side, and thinking of the ways they could be.

Then Sasayama wasn't there anymore.

And Kougami spends all his time wondering who things would've been if he had taken that jump, if he went in for the kiss, if he reached for his hand.

Would he still be here?

"Hey, um, Inspector..."

Akane glances over her shoulder as she walks.

"Yes Kougami-san?"

"Don't go where I can't see you, okay?"

She gives him an odd look but nods.

"Is it your 'Detective's Intuition'?"

He mulls this over.

"Yeah," he says looking back at the balcony, "you could say that."


End file.
